Stephens County rancher dies in helicopter crash Tuesday

Pilot injured at site east of Breckenridge

Joy Lewis/Reporter-News
Police tape is tied to the barbed wire fence at the Walking Cane Ranch on Tuesday afternoon. James Robert Kelly, 75, of East Caddo was killed when the helicopter he was riding in crashed into a stock pond at the ranch.$RETURN$$RETURN$

A Stephens County rancher was killed in a helicopter crash at the Walking Cane Ranch Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement released by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

James Robert Kelly, 75, of East Caddo, was pronounced dead at Stephens Memorial Hospital after the helicopter he was riding in crashed into a stock pond at the ranch.

The DPS was called to the scene at 1:37 p.m. The Walking Cane Ranch is northeast of Caddo and 16 miles east of Breckenridge.

The pilot, Stephen Mills Reid, 75, of Aledo, sustained minor injuries but was not taken to the hospital.

“The pilot advised they were hovering over a stock tank when control of the helicopter was lost,” the statement said. “The helicopter crashed into the water.”